Chapter 171

"That's it, ladies and gentlemen. The result was expected," I got up from my chair. "And there's nothing more for us to do here."

After bowing to everyone, I walked away from the stadium with Hermione on my arm. Passing happy fans of Ireland and other national teams celebrating victory together, we made our way to our tent with difficulty.

"Phew," Hermione flopped down on the couch. "Couldn't we have worn normal clothes?"

"Don't underestimate the look," I crouched down next to her. "You were seen as a young lady today, not just something slightly shaggy, in obscure jeans and windbreakers."

"A slightly shaggy 'something'?" turned her head lazily in my direction Hermione. "If I wasn't so tired, I'd definitely bang you with something heavy. Yes."

We just sat for a couple of minutes, then had a glass of juice each, and then started getting ready for bed.

"You know, Herm. We're packing. Getting ready for emergency leave."

"Why?"

"Sporting events, lots of people, alcohol. The joy of victory, the bitterness of defeat. Wizards. Imagine regular soccer fans, but wizards. With wands and the ability to do magic."

For a couple of seconds, Hermione was in thought, and then she was imbued and even turned a little pale.

"Let's pack up!"

In ten minutes, we had all of our things packed, from our spoons to our clothes. We dressed in dark clothes. Hermione spell-colored our jeans, sneakers, and jacket black. Dressed like that, combat-ready, we lay down on the couch in the living room and dozed off.

A sudden noise outside yanked me out of my slumber, and Hermione jumped up next.

"Here we go."

I pulled out my wand, threw my bag over my shoulder, and walked toward the exit. Hermione followed my example but put out the fire in the tent fireplace before we left. As soon as we stepped outside, the noise instantly intensified. There were screams of panic on all sides, wizards running, and flames, and an explosion in the distance. I pointed my wand at the tent, magically folded it into the camping position, and strapped it behind me, putting it on like a backpack.

Two weeks ago, I'd thought about testing my strength against the bandits who'd made this mess, but now, as I held Hermione's hand and retreated to the opposite side from the explosions, I didn't want to face those guys. I'm not afraid, no, but the girl needs to be protected. Oh, if she heard my thoughts, she would scold me for thinking she was non-independent. "She didn't train for nothing!" - that's what she would say to me. Better to keep quiet.

Fortunately, Hermione didn't demand to rush to the aid of someone out there but dutifully retreated with her wand at the ready.

When we reached the woods, we began to make our way through. Some familiar clothes flashed from the side, and a moment later, the female half of the Greengrass family pointed their wands at us.

"Follow me," Delphine said without any preamble, and I jerked toward her on some reflexes. Thankfully Hermione didn't argue. "We are going beyond the boundary of the anti-apparation charms. From there, we leave with the portkey."

The girls panted in a hurry. Delphine, Hermione, and I were holding steady.

"And from here?"

"The charms were clearly put on by an artifact. Strong interference. Very risky," Delphine answered in chopped phrases, saving her breath.

"Halt!" a harsh distorted voice forced us to stop.

To my surprise, Delphine didn't start cursing the five black-robed wizards with spells, only with a tenacious glance tried to search out something in them.

"Oh, what beauties!" theatrically spreading his arms to his sides, one of the hooded wizards came out to us. His face was covered by an iron mask, and his voice was distorted like the others."We could kill the boy for this, right guys?"

"Yes!" replied the others cheerfully.

"Why are we standing?" I whispered to Delphine, standing close to me. We both covered the others with our backs.

"You don't understand," she looked around at the others puzzledly, answering in the same barely audible whisper. "Henry's missing... I suppose..."

"Sorry, but I don't care at all right now. If your husband is among them, and you will not attack, then defend."

Without waiting for an answer, I stepped forward. I felt a powerful, complex Protego set up from behind me, which made the air rumble. A pair of wizards threw bright and powerful beams of Reducto and Expelliarmus into the shield but to no avail.

"Brave..."

I sharply moved to the side at full power, creating an overload of Stupefy's magic that immediately dispersed in a swarm of fast, sharp rays. The wizards weren't complete garbage and began actively dodging the beams as they flew. One of them got carried away, and I quickly ran up to him.

"Ictus," the banalest transparent blob of the Air Fist spell came off my wand. Nonsense in combat, but not at close range. The man was knocked to the ground, but in flight, he created a half-sphere of Protego.

"Transform," the spell created a spike from the ground in the man's fall area. Transfiguration is the bread of strong fighters who focus on moving in combat and forcing their opponents to move.

It worked very well, and the spike came out precisely from the man's chest, piercing his heart.